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by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com / The Book
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-25,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 500,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 47,000 posts since 2003 (30,000+ on WordPress as of 12/31/24) -
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Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
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General (many free):
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
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"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me -
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."
–Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things (1868) (erroneously attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, among others) -
“I am still learning.”
—Domenico Giuntalodi (but misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (common phrase throughout 1500's)). -
"Love work; hate mastery over others; and avoid intimacy with the government."
—Shemaya, in the Thalmud -
"It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers."
—Charles Dickens, “The Old Curiosity Shop ... With a Frontispiece. From a Painting by Geo. Cattermole, Etc.” 255 (1848) -
"A system of law that not only makes certain conduct criminal, but also lays down rules for the conduct of the authorities, often becomes complex in its application to individual cases, and will from time to time produce imperfect results, especially if one's attention is confined to the particular case at bar. Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced."
—Williams v. Nix, 700 F. 2d 1164, 1173 (8th Cir. 1983) (Richard Sheppard Arnold, J.), rev'd Nix v. Williams, 467 US. 431 (1984). -
"The criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence."
—Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 659 (1961). -
"Any costs the exclusionary rule are costs imposed directly by the Fourth Amendment."
—Yale Kamisar, 86 Mich.L.Rev. 1, 36 n. 151 (1987). -
"There have been powerful hydraulic pressures throughout our history that bear heavily on the Court to water down constitutional guarantees and give the police the upper hand. That hydraulic pressure has probably never been greater than it is today."
— Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 39 (1968) (Douglas, J., dissenting). -
"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property."
—Entick v. Carrington, 19 How.St.Tr. 1029, 1066, 95 Eng. Rep. 807 (C.P. 1765) -
"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. And so, while we are concerned here with a shabby defrauder, we must deal with his case in the context of what are really the great themes expressed by the Fourth Amendment."
—United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 69 (1950) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) -
"The course of true law pertaining to searches and seizures, as enunciated here, has not–to put it mildly–run smooth."
—Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 618 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). -
"A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable."
—Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325 (1987) -
"For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. ... But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected."
—Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967) -
“Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
—United States v. Olmstead, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1925) (Brandeis, J., dissenting) -
“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.”
—United States v. $124,570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989) -
"You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes / You just might find / You get what you need."
—Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let it Bleed (album, 1969) -
"In Germany, they first came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me–and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
—Martin Niemöller (1945) [he served seven years in a concentration camp] -
“You know, most men would get discouraged by now. Fortunately for you, I am not most men!”
---Pepé Le Pew -
"The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948) -
The book was dedicated in the first (1982) and sixth (2025) editions to Justin William Hall (1975-2025). He was three when this project started in 1978.
Website design by Wally Waller, Colorado Springs. 
Category Archives: Nexus
TX1: Pervasiveness of cell phone use is nexus in a home invasion case where victim knew def
The CSLI “affidavit showed a fair probability that the cell-site location data associated with Frazier’s cell phone would further incriminate Frazier (an identified suspect in the crime at issue) by confirming that he was in the vicinity of the crime … Continue reading
W.D.N.C.: PC for car moots Gant argument
Defendant argues that the search of his car was void under Gant because he was handcuffed outside it. There was, however, probable cause for a vehicle search. United States v. Phillips, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209424 (W.D.N.C. Sep. 3, 2025).* … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Incomplete series for Netflix was subject of SW
Netflix contracted with defendant to make a series. When it fell through after paying him $44M, they believed they’d been defrauded. The search warrant for what had been completed of the series was potential evidence and properly sought under the … Continue reading
TX2: Basis for SW wasn’t inadmissible “hearsay”
What shows the basis for seeking a search warrant is not inadmissible “hearsay.” Williams v. State, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 8224 (Tex. App. – Ft. Worth Oct. 23, 2025). “But the government has grounds to search a known drug dealer’s … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Def’s association with property was speculative and even GFE can’t save it
The affidavit for this search warrant was so lacking in probable cause that it could not be relied upon, even for good faith. All it showed was the defendant was someone who was associated with an apartment and might have … Continue reading
PA: Yelling “Hey, fellas” to defs who fled was not a seizure
“Based upon our review of the record and the applicable authority, we conclude that Officer Crist calling out ‘hey, fellas’ to Stoney and Holmes did not amount to a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes, as it did not amount to … Continue reading
CA8: While the nexus showing was weak, GFE still applied
This affidavit for search warrant didn’t show nexus, but it wasn’t so lacking that the good faith exception didn’t apply. Some information was provided, and it was more than in cases where it was lacking. United States v. Diaz, 2025 … Continue reading
D.Kan.: Affidavit emailed with SW to judge was considered “attached”
In overcoming a warrant particularity challenge cured by the affidavit, the government satisfied its burden that the affidavits in support of the warrant were emailed to the issuing judge as two pdf files in the same email. They weren’t, of … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Probationer’s GPS alert was RS
Defendant’s GPS tether alert was reasonable suspicion for a probation search. United States v. Moore, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170428 (D. Mont. Sep. 2, 2025). The allegation that drug traffickers regularly use cell phones to communicate about the dealings is … Continue reading
MA: 123-day delay between cell phone seizure and SW was unreasonable here
Balancing the interests involved, the trial court found that the 123-day delay between seizure of defendant’s cell phone and seeking a search warrant for it was unreasonable. On de novo review, “That notwithstanding, there is no Massachusetts precedent upholding as … Continue reading
MI: Two controlled buys where def left house to do it and returned was PC for house
The informant’s information here [to me] was conclusorily stated by the officer to be reliable [not discussed], except there were also two controlled buys from the defendant where he left his place and returned. [The latter is enough.] People v. … Continue reading
CA9: Untimely post-trial motion to suppress not even considered on appeal
“Ellis also argues that the police officers’ search of his rental car resulted from an unconstitutionally prolonged traffic stop and was unsupported by probable cause. He pressed this claim in a post-trial motion that was untimely under Federal Rule of … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: 4A IAC shown by 2255 petitioner; arrest lacked all probable cause
2255 petitioner prevails on a Fourth Amendment ineffective assistance of counsel claim. There clearly was no probable cause for defendant’s arrest and car search. United States v. Henry, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133252 (N.D. Ind. July 10, 2025).* The government … Continue reading
CO: Three-day delay between seizure of defendant’s car and getting SW for it was reasonable
Three-day delay between seizure of defendant’s car and getting a warrant to search was reasonable. People v. Mills, 2025 CO 47, 2025 Colo. LEXIS 572 (June 30, 2025). Defendant’s cell phone was linked to his prostitution/human trafficking case, so there … Continue reading
D.P.R.: Nexus to CSLI would show who had the phone to connect it to crime
Defendant had standing to contest a search of this cell phone. While he didn’t attach an affidavit, the motion and other papers say it’s his, as does the consent form. Nothing suggests it’s not. The police got a warrant out … Continue reading
OH1: Protective sweep unjustified; inevitable discovery alternative waived by state by lack of preservation
The protective sweep here was unreasonable because the only gun the officers knew anything about had already been found and there were no people to look for. The trial court erred in overruling the motion to suppress. The state waived … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: SW can issue to find evidence of a conspiracy
Defendant challenges this search warrant which refers to seeking potential evidence of a conspiracy where the officer only has evidence of overt acts. On the totality, the court finds probable cause and nexus and that the warrant is not overbroad. … Continue reading
TX14: Nexus here established by logical inference
The record supported nexus for search warrants for cell phone apparently used to coordinate between two cars that were driving for an hour in a shopping mall parking lot looking for a robbery target. It was logically the only way … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: Use of stop sticks was a seizure
The use of stop sticks was a seizure, but here it was justified. United States v. Jordan, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86127 (W.D. Mo. Apr. 4, 2025).* There was nexus for defendant’s place, and the Franks claim isn’t material. United … Continue reading
CA4: Where materiality fails under Franks, falsity doesn’t matter
The district court concluded that there was no false statement for Franks purposes, but that doesn’t even have to be decided. It certainly wasn’t material. Hedgepeth v. Nash Cty., 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 10868 (4th Cir. May 6, 2025).* It … Continue reading